Phylogenetic clustering as a tool for long term monitoring of plant communities in rockpools

Abstract

The use of temporary freshwater rockpools as sentinel systems for climate change is favoured by the small size of these pools and the annual life-cycles of many of their plant species. This function is, in turn, dependent on the sensitivity of long-term monitoring programmes to floristic changes that may indicate directional shifts in community composition. We hypothesise that phylogenetic clustering or dispersion of the macrophytes colonising pools and the humid ecotones around their margins may represent an effective method for detecting such shifts.